After Rivero opened his Whitecaps FC account in the 19th minute, the Reds scored three unanswered goals to secure the victory in front of a sold-out BC Place crowd. Designated Player Jozy Altidore was the hero for the Reds, finding the back of the net twice in his TFC debut.

The result ends Vancouver’s 13-match undefeated streak in home openers dating back to 2002, including four previous wins in the MLS era.

Nine returning players from 2014 made up Carl Robinson’s opening day starting lineup. Rivero and experienced centre back Pa-Modou Kah were the only two newcomers in the squad.

Kekuta Manneh also had his chances, including a half breakaway in the 13th minute. The 20-year-old caused all sorts of problems on the left wing in the first half, but simply couldn’t find the back of the net.

Toronto’s first real opportunity came in the 18th minute, when a blocked Michael Bradley strike fell to Giovinco inside the area. Fortunately for the Blue and White, the diminutive Italian missed just wide.

And less than a minute later, Rivero made up for his earlier miss by scoring Vancouver’s first goal of the 2015 season. After receiving a perfect ball over the top from Kah, the 23-year-old took two touches before firing a low strike past Joe Bendik to put Whitecaps FC ahead.

A pair of newcomers opened the scoring for Vancouver and a pair of newcomers answered for the Reds. In the 32nd minute, Giovinco slipped in a nice little throughball to Altidore, who rounded David Ousted before slotting it into the open net.

Robinson’s side responded well, controlling play for the rest of the half.

Manneh came close again in the 40th minute, tiptoeing around Steven Caldwell into the area before seeing his left-footed attempt stopped by Bendik. The Reds keeper, who had four first-half saves, also handled a well-taken volley by Pedro Morales just before the break.

Next up for Whitecaps FC is their first road match of 2015 next Saturday against Chicago Fire (3 p.m. PT kickoff – TSN1). The ‘Caps aren’t back at BC Place until March 28, when they host Cascadia rival Portland Timbers. Limited tickets are still available at whitecapsfc.com/tickets.

MCMILLAN ‘CAPS CORNER KICK DONATIONS

For every ‘Caps corner kick, McMillan donates $100 to the United Way. An additional $500 is donated for every goal scored off a corner kick. This match McMillan Corners for Kids has donated $800.